


In Another Lifetime

by Jaxon



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Friendship, Gen, James does not appear, Tumblr Prompt, but he is married to Lily
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-01
Updated: 2017-05-01
Packaged: 2018-10-26 10:15:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10784808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jaxon/pseuds/Jaxon
Summary: HP AU.  In a world where Tom Riddle was slaughtered, the wizarding wars did not occur, and Albus Dumbledore promoted peace in Hogwarts, Lily Evans and Severus Snape did the impossible: they remained lifelong friends.Snape meets his potential, and has a shot at happiness along the way.





	In Another Lifetime

**Author's Note:**

> A response to an anonymous Tumblr prompt: A little fluffy sort of story where Snape gets a chance to meet his potential?

At every meal, Albus Dumbledore looked out into the sea of faces, gently prodding his way into each and every child’s memories.  He didn’t like doing it; didn’t particularly want to do it – but he recognised that had he taken more care with Tom Riddle, then Myrtle Warren wouldn’t have died, and Rubeus Hagrid wouldn’t have been unfairly maligned for such a long period.

He couldn’t do much about Myrtle, the poor soul, but at least Hagrid had finally been allowed to resume his magical education.  For most teenage boys it would’ve been mortifying to be several years older than their classmates, towering high above them with plenty of facial hair and a far deeper voice…  But then, Hagrid did all of those things when he was in the right year, so it was of no real importance.  Hagrid was so pleased to have been exonerated, nothing could dampen his spirit.

And Tom?  Well, Albus Dumbledore had no tears left to shed for Tom. It was a pity that one with such rare and powerful talent was extinguished at such a young age – but Dumbledore and Fudge and Crouch had seen it all before; had witnessed the rise of Grindelwald on the continent, and they weren’t about to stand aside idly and watch as it happened in Britain.

Not by that slip of a boy.

Still, it hadn’t felt right to be part of the mission to hunt him down.  It hadn’t felt right to be the one to hold him whilst the aurors executed him.  It hadn’t felt right, but Dumbledore knew it was.  He’d promised himself never to let another dark wizard dominate the wizarding world again, and young Tom had come remarkably close.  

So now, every day, Dumbledore watched each child much more closely than he’d ever done before.

It wasn’t the only change at Hogwarts.  There were six tables, and not four – and the tables were mixed, forcing the houses to sit together for meals.  McGonagall had wisely suggested the removal of the house points completely and Flitwick was responsible for the intra-year competition, with each age group competing instead.  The lower years took it more seriously than those studying for OWLs and NEWTs, who were much more preoccupied with the attainment of Os and Es instead of rubies and diamonds.

For the most part, the school was gentler – kinder.  There were still divisions, but they weren’t drawn down house or blood lines.  The Black sisters, brothers and cousins had all been sorted across the houses.  Slughorn was certain that if the old regime had been in place, he’d have gained all of the talented youngsters into Slytherin, and after a drink or two in the staffroom, he’d spout as much – but then, he couldn’t deny his pride at seeing Muggleborns finally happily seated in the dungeons.  That Lily Evans really was something special, after all.

* * *

“Is it true?”  Lily cornered him breathlessly in the Ministry canteen.  “Really true? You’re leaving?”

“Who told you?” Severus brushed his long hair from his eyes.  “I wanted to tell you myself.”

“You know the rumour mill in this place, Sev,” she said.  “So it’s true?  Why?”

He nodded.  “I’m…”

“Bored?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought you’d just bought a house?” she asked, curiously.  “I thought you wanted to find someone special and get married?”

“…I have, and I do,” he said, blushing slightly.  “But there’s years yet.  We’ll probably live to 150, and I’m only 22.”  He caught the flinty look in her expression.  “That’s not a criticism,” he said, hastily.  “I know you and Potter are,” he almost choked on the word, “happy.”

“You’re not still brokenhearted about Narcissa Black marrying Lucius Malfoy, are you?  You’re aiming too high, that’s your problem,” Lily said, snaking her arm into his.  “What about Marlene in the Magical Transportation Department?  Or, oh, I know!  How ab-”

“Lil,” he said, softly. “I’ve made up my mind.  I’m not really that bothered about a wife, or a family. All I know is that I don’t want to push papers around the Ministry.  I want to travel.  I want to collect potions ingredients from exotic places, and explode cauldrons in countries that I’ve never been to.  I want to be the name _on_ the academic papers that we file, not the bloke with the name tag putting them into binders.”

* * *

He opened the door and grinned when he saw his old school friend.  “Hello you.”

“Hello you back,” she laughed, prodding him in the chest and making her way in.  “Has Harry behaved?”

“I thought Potter was coming for him?”

She smiled.  “I figured he could do the dishes, and I could visit you instead.”

“Mum!”  Harry barrelled down the tight hallway, and Lily hugged her teenage son tightly.  After a moment Harry wriggled uncomfortably.  “All right, Mum, that’s enough.”

“Sorry love,” she said, kissing his brow and fiddling with his messy hair.  “Did you get what you needed?”

“Professor Slughorn is going to be so impressed with my paper,” Harry enthused, pulling his notes out. “And I can’t wait to show Hermione. She’s going to be ridiculously jealous!”

“Hmm,” she said, looking at his bundle of notes.  “And you’ve been behaving for Severus?”

“Yes Mum,” Harry whined, pulling his trainers on.

She shot Severus a sceptical look.  “And you’ve been behaving with Harry?  No teaching him dark curses once you’d finished with his Potions essay?”

“Just one or two,” Severus drawled, a smirk covering his face.  “No hexing in the corridors though, Harry.”

“He’s joking,” Harry said, hastily, seeing his mother’s expression.

“He always is,” Lily replied.  “Off outside for a minute, Harry.  I just want a word with Sev.”

Harry quietly complied, picking his bag and broom up, and stepping out into the warm sunshine.

“What’s up?”

“Are you definitely sticking around?  No urge to go flying off to the other side of the world again?”

“I’ve got the urge,” he said, smiling, “but not the body.  My hip’s not been right since I had that encounter on the beach in Rio.  I’m getting old.”

“You’re mid 30s, Severus.”

“Practically dead.  …ouch, speak of the devil.”  He twisted his hip, grimacing in pain.

“If it’s bothering you, you should go to St Mungo’s.”

“It’ll be fine.  It’s just a twinge.  I’ve got potions for a twinge.”

“…so if you’re definitely staying, did you give any more thought to McGonagall’s offer?”

He scoffed.  “I’m not a teacher, Lil.”

“Could’ve fooled me. Harry’s come on leaps and bounds since he’s been visiting.”

“That’s different.  He’s different…”  Severus wrung his hands.  “Come into the lab,” he said, softly.  He pushed the door open, where the dining room would ordinarily be, and Lily saw the splendid array of ingredients and instruments.  “I can’t leave this.  It’s my life’s work.”

“You could take it with you.  You need to share it.”

“Not by standing in front of a classroom of dunderheads,” he said.  “They wouldn’t appreciate it.  A bunch of spotty first years who don’t appreciate the beauty of a simmering cauldron, and the power of its shimmering fumes.”

“We did,” Lily said.  “Harry does.  Think about it, Sev.”

* * *

“I am sure that our guest speaker needs no introduction to all of those who have done your required reading,” Slughorn intoned.  

“Sir!”  Hermione Granger’s hand shot into the air.  “Please, sir?  Is it Severus Snape?”

Slughorn looked pleased at the excited chattering that erupted when he nodded.  “Yes.  We are honoured that he has found time in his schedule to be here today.”

On the other side of the door, Snape gave a slight smile at the excitement he’d caused in the classroom. He wiped his slightly sweaty palms against his robes, and took a deep breath before pushing the door open.

“Professor Slughorn,” he greeted, shaking his old teacher’s hand warmly.  “Good afternoon, class.”

“Good afternoon, sir,” the class obediently chanted back.

“We shall begin this lesson with a practical demonstration,” he said, rolling up his sleeves and beckoning for a student to come to the front.  “You shall assist…?”

“Hermione,” the young woman answered, looking pleased that he’d chosen her.

* * *

“I can’t believe he chose me to demonstrate!” Hermione exclaimed as she, Ron and Draco walked back up to the Great Hall.

“I thought he’d have chosen Harry,” Ron mused.

Draco looked surprised. “Harry?  Harry Potter?”

“Yeah,” Hermione said. “Harry has private lessons with him. Harry’s mum is his best friend – they go way back.”

“I thought his potions had got better this year,” Draco said.  “Lucky beast.  Father’s been trying to get an appointment with Snape for weeks – I think they were passing acquaintances at school, but they lost touch years ago.”

“Do you think there’s anything in the rumour that he’ll teach permanently?”

Draco shook his head. “Not at all.  Hogwarts couldn’t afford him.”

* * *

“He wants to retire, Severus.  Soon.” McGonagall said, not looking up from her paperwork.  “Maybe this year, maybe next year.  I might be able to convince him to stay a little while longer – for the right candidate to take the vacant post.”

Severus nodded.  “I am aware of the rumours.”

“I am curious,” she said, finishing her letter with a flourish and putting the quill down.  “I was disappointed when you did not respond to my letter, and I rather assumed that you had no interest in the position.”

“Lily Potter keeps suggesting that I speak to you.  So here I am.”

McGonagall gave a tight smile.  “Ah.  …are you also aware that it was Lily Potter who suggested to me that I should write to you?”

“…no.”  He bit back a laugh.  “What I now fear, Professor, is that my friend has some hidden agenda which I have not yet determined.”

“Horace tells me that your guest spot over these past few months has been extremely successful.”

“Yes…  If we are to do this, I think I need to make three things clear,” he said.  “Firstly, you cannot afford me-”

“-really!  I-”

He held up his hand.  “It is a fact that Hogwarts could not be expected to pay my going rate.  But also, I do not have the patience to teach the lower years.”  He picked up the quill from the Headmistress’ desk and scribbled a figure on the parchment.  “I will accept this salary, on the understanding that you need to find another teacher for the lower years, and I will take the OWL and NEWT classes – fourth and fifth, sixth and seventh.”

McGonagall nodded.  “And the third thing?”

“The textbooks Slughorn uses are atrocious.  They need replacing.”

“Horace has lamented as such himself, but unfortunately, Severus, there’s no alternative.”

* * *

She chewed on the end of her quill as she looked down the instructions.  “Yes,” she said, ticking it off and he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.  She smiled. “Nervous?”

“It’s always silly mistakes with things like this,” he said, pacing behind her sofa.  “I know what my own notes mean, but transcribing them, and making sure that someone else doesn’t misinterpret them…  I know the potions inside out, so even if the instructions were wrong, I’d just amend it on the fly without realising.”  He sighed again.  “It’s one thing putting your name to research, but if you get a first year potion wrong and send the kids to the infirmary with boils…”

“You’re worrying about nothing,” Lily said, turning the parchment over and inspecting the next page. “But if it puts your mind at rest, I’ll ask Molly to brew.”

“Molly?  Molly Weasley?”

“Very proficient witch,” Lily said, “and whilst I am certain she can brew, I think it’s been a while since she has.  She’s very methodical, and if I ask her not to, she won’t deviate from the recipe.”

* * *

Ginny walked into the Advanced NEWT class, flanked by Harry on one side, and Ron on the other.  “It’s weird being with your year,” she whispered.

“We thought it was strange last year,” Ron said, waving to Hermione who was engaged in an animated discussion with Draco at the back of the room.  “But it’s so he doesn’t have to do the same demonstration twice.  Uses up twice the ingredients, which costs Hogwarts money.  Makes sense, really.”

“And you can sit with us,” Harry said.  “This’ll do here – we don’t want to be too far back from the action.”  He pulled three chairs out for them all to sit on.

Ginny reached into her bag and pulled out her brand new textbook, smiling as she saw the printed dedication in the first page.  

_Pioneering Potions by Severus Snape._

_To my students – you will find that this book is far thicker than previous textbooks you may have used.  Each printed page is followed by a blank sheet.  This is not an error, but space for you to make your own notes.  I encourage you to experiment, to innovate, and to invent – for that is how we discover pioneering potions._

_My deepest thanks to Molly Weasley, for her sound advice, and willingness to dedicate her kitchen to the cause._

_And my eternal gratitude to my proofreader, editor, cheerleader, and friend – always – Lily Potter._


End file.
